#treasures

This is one of two shots Richie sent me. I believe this was around Christmas. And in case you hadn't figured it out, I'm Chuck Yeager.

Right after we landed in Texas he reached out on Facebook.

I swear, even now we could be brothers. So much in common.

He and his wife live near my sister, so the next trip out to the Golden State I'm definitely gonna plan a reunion.

We lived across the street from each other in the Irvington district of Fremont, California. Same age. Best buddies until my family moved, after that we lost contact with each other.

I'd say we're about 5 or 6 years old in this picture, so we're talkin' mid-1950s or so.

The booklet will be 4.5" x 4.5" closed, with 4.5" x 9" spreads when open.

Last Wednesday I printed the separate pages. Thanksgiving Day I trimmed 'em to size. This week I'll start taping everything together.

#berkeleycommunitycenter #billgraham #blues #bonniemaclean #collection #handbill #music #myyouth #nineteenseventy #pop #richiehavens #rock #rockart #themoodyblues #tomrush #turleyrichards

The small-ish booklet is 3.5" x 5" closed, 5" x 7" spreads when open.

Printed on 80 lb. matte paper I found at our nearby Walmart. Epson ET-2800.

Followed by a little Exacto Knife work and a buncha' patience.

Again, check out IG reels and YT vids by both Paul Treacy and Connor Bryan.

weird... it works for me.

try this monster > slate.com/technology/2...

The R4 was manufactured in the United States from 1965 to 1971.

Around 60 million Instamatics were sold by 1976. If you search eBay, you'll find lots of 'em.

The camera has a wrist strap and the color printing of the original instruction booklet is still as vibrant as the day the camera was sold.

The rest of the contents are original, as well. The 126 film box has a November 1969 expiration date. The Eveready AA batteries are paper-wrapped and have yet to leak, and the Flashcube is unused.

All original, the box is in very good shape, with just a slight tear at one of the lid's corners. I used a small piece of clear packing tape to shore it up.

This Kodak Hawkeye Instamatic R4 is on display in the War Room.

It was a gift from an acquaintance back in 2008. It'd belonged to her grandfather and she had no idea what to do with it, so she offered it to me. I couldn't say no.

Interesting, educational, and somewhat dark, the article pointed out all that was bad about the 'cube and left me feeling guilty for not knowing what hell I, as a young consumer, would unleash into the world. Kinda' depressing.

I spotted a tweet from @maureenbond last week, pointing to a Slate article by Harriet Harriss (tinyurl.com/43hnhtz7) about the Kodak Flashcube.